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Bimaaji'owin - An Interactive Story of Survival

The name Bimaaji'owin represents survival in the Ojibwe language. Working in partnership with The Manitoba Indian Culture and Education Centre (MICEC) and with project funding from Canadian Heritage, Manlab created Bimaaji'owin, an interactive education adventure about survival, aboriginal culture, myths and language.

Developed using Storylab, Manlab's interactive fiction game engine, players interact with the story and control the characters using text commands. Storylab enabled Manlab developers and programmers to present Bimaaji’owin using a unique, modern-day version of old text adventure games of the ‘80s. The end result is an immersive environment that includes aural and animated elements.

The story opens with the player heading south through Manitoba on a York boat in hopes of returning to his family before winter hits. Things don't exactly go as planned: after a strange dream, the player finds himself fighting to keep the boat afloat in raging rapids. Once on dry land, he becomes lost in dark forest, where something might be prowling through the night...

Will he fall prey to what lurks in the dark, or can he find his way through the forest and reunite with the crew?

Bimaaji'owin launches in early 2010.